Improvement in cane-strippers



J. A; HALL.

, Cane-Stripper.

No. 49.260. k Patent Aug. 8, 1865.

Witneses:

5 ya, a. 4

AHLPHOTO-LITHO. C0.N.Y. (OSEDRNE'S PROCESS) v UNITED STATES JOEL A. HALL, OF MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE.

IMPROVEMENT IN CANE-STRIPPERS.

- Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 49,260, dated August 8, 1865.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOEL A. HALL, late of Keokuk, Iowa, but now of Memphis, Shelby county, State of Tennessee, have invented anew and Improved Cane-Stripper; and I do hereby declare that thefollowin g is afull, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a front elevation of my improved cane-stripper. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section taken in a vertical plane through the center of the machine. Fig. 3 is a similar view, showing the knives distended. Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the machine with its knives distended. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the knives arranged in proper relation to each other for cutting upon all sides of the stalks. Fig. 6 is a vertical cross-section through the middle of one pair of knives.

Similar letters of referenceindicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

The object of this invention is to prepare the stalks of cane for crushing machinery by stripping ofl' the blades, and also the sheath or husk, or those portions which are found at thejunction of the blades with the stalk. and which, if allowed to pass through the crushing-mill, would injure the juice or sirup.

My invention consists in so arrangingcurved knives in pairs that they will yield and accommodate themselves to the varying thickness of the cane, and at the same time operate upon all points thereof, so as to leave the stalks perfectly clean as they are drawn between said knives.

It alsocousists in the employment of auxiliary knives in conjunction with the expansible knives, for the purpose of aiding the latter in severing the sheath or husk from the stalks, as will be hereinafter described.

It finally consists in providing for regulating the cut of the knives by the employment of guide-rollers which are susceptible of being adjusted as may be required.

To enable others skilled in the art to understand my invention, I will describe its construc tion and operation.

In the accompanyingdrawings, Arepresents a rectangular frame, which is suitably adapted for receiving within it the contrivances which are arranged in upright positions upon hori zontal guide-rods b b, that pass loosely through holes which are made in :the flat portions of the knife-blades. The ends of the rodsbb are secured to the sides of the frameA, and between these ends and the knife-blades are interposed coiled springs c c, the office of which is to keep the knives together in the center of the frame with an elastic yielding pressure.

The cutting-edges, and also those portions of the knives between which the cane-stalks are drawn, are curved outward, as shown in Figs. 1, 4, and 5, so as to leave an opening between the knives for the admission of the cane. Another object in thus curving the cutting portions of the knife-blades'is that they may better conform to the cylindrical form of the cane. These knives are sharpened by beveling the outside surfaces of the blades, as shown in the drawings, thus leaving the inside surfaces flator in lines with said cutting-edges.

On the outside of each knife-blade I secure an adjustable bearing-plate, d, so that it can be adjusted in a direction with its length by loosening the set-screw 0. These bearings d d carry rollers g g, which receive the stalks of cane between their peripheries, gage the cut of the knives, and guide the stalks in a proper manner between the knives, so as to prevent the stalks from being out by the knives or choking the machine.

By loosening the set-screws e e, which pass through oblong slots in the bearing-plates dd, these plates may be moved in a direction with their length and the rollers g g set apart or brought nearer together, as circumstances require. On the outside surfaces, and at the front edges of the curved portions of the knife-blades a a, I form V-shaped knives '5 t, as clearly shown in Fig. 5. These small cutters are for. the purpose not only of splitting the sheath at the join ts of the cane and assisting the curved knives in severing the sheath from the stalks but also to split the blades of the cane. The sheaths which-I refer to are very hard; unless some provision is made for splitti them, as well as-the leaves or blades, they. will he very liable to force the knife-blades apart, 1. H

and thus escape the cutting-edges. The small knives it will effectually obviate this difficulty. In Fig. 5 I have represented one of thesosm all flutters by removing one of the guide-rollers.

In rear of the knives a a, I arrange another set of knives, a a, which are constructed preoisely like the knives a a, and provided with guide-rollers g g and knives i i, like those which are applied to the knife-blades a a. These rear blades, a a, are arranged in planes at right angles to the knives a a, as shown in the drawings, and they yield under an elastic pressure as described for the knife-blades cm. The object of employing a second pair of roll ers in rear of the first pair is to sever the blades and eyes from those portions of the stalks which would escape through the space between the blades of the first pair.

In carrying my invention into practice 1 arrange the strippers in front of the crushingrollers of a sugar-mill in such manner that the cane will be drawn between the strippingknives by the crushers, thus stripping the cane on its way to the mill.

The strippers may be arranged in gangs in front of a crushing-mill, so that the cane may be fed to the mill at different points.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. Stripping the blades from cane by means JOEL A. HALL.

Witnesses: T. CAMPBELL, E. SOHAFER.

Mia-a 

